


You can learn to like anything (by adding copious amounts of sugar)

by Kunstpause



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff and Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-16 02:28:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18682282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kunstpause/pseuds/Kunstpause
Summary: “I think I went home with a priest? Or a stripper? I don’t even know, my head hurts too much to figure it out.” For a moment, she seemed lost in thought as if still trying to figure it out. Cullen’s eyebrows went up at her rambling.“You know, given the nature of the party it might have been both...”





	1. Coffee to go

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Elveny](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elveny/gifts).



> Completely gratuitous Coffee Shop AU to the DA2 longfic I'm writing with Elveny. Fluffy and drama free for once because we really needed that.

The sound of the little bell hanging over the front door made Cullen look up from his crossword puzzle. It had been a rather slow day so far. After the usual rush of people around lunchtime, getting their coffees and snacks to go before heading back to work, it had slowed down considerably. Not unusual at all for a regular Tuesday, and so he had kept himself busy with the paper’s crossword section until customers arrived. In front of the counter stood a woman in baggy clothes, wearing a scarf on her head and the biggest pair of sunglasses one could imagine, mumbling a scratchy ‘morning’ at him. With a professionally blank expression, he wished her a good day as well, not pointing out that it was the middle of the afternoon already.

“What can I get for you?”

She was squinting at the menu above him for a moment. When the time grew longer and longer, she shook her head. “I am sorry, I have no idea about coffee but I think I need something really strong. Do you have something that still tastes sweet but does the job?” She had pulled off the sunglasses and looked apologetically at him. 

“Sure,” he replied. “Name?”

“Huh?” She looked at him confused until he held a pen up. 

“For the cup!”

It took her another couple of seconds to understand his meaning. “Oh, yes, Cassia. My name is Cassia.” 

“You like cinnamon?” 

She nodded only to have her hand shoot up, holding her head as she grimaced in pain. He could see her eyes were red rimmed and he winced in sympathy. 

“Rough night?” he asked casually as he went onto the coffee machine. 

“The worst,” came a dry reply, then a sigh. “And I thought bachelorette parties were supposed to be fun…” 

Cullen couldn’t help but laugh slightly at the lamenting tone she had put on. “Maybe it was too much fun,” he said jokingly, getting a cup ready.

“Possibly,” she agreed. “I think I went home with a priest? Or a stripper? I don’t even know, my head hurts too much to figure it out.” For a moment, she seemed lost in thought as if still trying to figure it out. Cullen’s eyebrows went up at her rambling.

“You know, given the nature of the party it might have been both,” he supplied in his most helpful voice. The way her eyes widened was almost amusing. 

“Crap, you’re not wrong…” 

“You’ll want a double shot of espresso then, and maybe an aspirin.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Do you sell those, too?” she asked almost hopefully.

Cullen shook his head, still laughing as he filled some cinnamon syrup into her cup. “Sadly, we are not allowed to,” he explained. “But there is a pharmacy just two doors down and across the street.” He was done putting a lid on the coffee and handed it to her. “That’ll be four dollars.” She smiled thankfully, handing him a five dollar bill. “Keep the change, and thank you for the tip and the emergency coffee help.” 

“No problem,” he smiled back. “Hope it helps. Have a good day!” 

With a friendly ‘you too’, she put her sunglasses back on and left the coffee shop. From the large windows he could see her follow his advice, heading towards the pharmacy before he went back to his still waiting crossword.

The next day, he had almost forgotten about the encounter when the bell above the door announced another customer. Who was talking to him before he had even caught up. 

“It this place always this empty? How do you make money?” 

Slightly perplexed, he looked up. In front of him stood a woman that looked slightly familiar. She was wearing a bright blue dress and a curious look on her face as she glanced over the mostly empty tables. Something about her was a little off, and it took him a few seconds to realise what it was. She looked no older than him, but her long, slightly wavy hair was almost snow white. It was an odd contrast to her face and he caught himself staring for a moment before her words registered.

“Come an hour earlier and you get to wait in line outside the door for the most part,” he answered before he could think better of it. Did he know her? 

“Huh,” was all she replied before shrugging. “You! You made me that cinnamon coffee yesterday!” she exclaimed suddenly, and for a moment Cullen was unsure if it was supposed to be a simple statement or an accusation. Realisation washed over him.

“The lady with the bad time at a bachelorette party,” he grinned and she cringed visibly in front of him. 

“Don’t remind me, I still don’t know how bad a time it actually was. I am never drinking again!” she declared with the timeless conviction of every person that had ever had a hangover. 

“Naturally,” he agreed with a chuckle. “So, welcome back then, and how can I help you?”

A bright smile lit up her entire face. “You made me like coffee somehow, so whatever you made yesterday, I need another one.”  She scrunched her eyes together, reading his nametag. “Cullen.”

With a laugh, he went to make her the same drink again. “Not a big coffee fan then, I take it?”

She almost shuddered when she answered. “God no, it tastes horrible! I don’t know how anyone can stand it to be honest?” 

“Yet here you are, in a coffee shop. For the second day in a row, I might add.” He felt like should be almost insulted, but somehow, despite this being the second slightly strange conversation they had, he found her oddly charming. 

She shrugged as she watched him work the coffee machine.

“Yesterday was clearly an emergency. And today is entirely your fault,” she stated as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“My fault?” He tried his best to follow her. “Because I made you like coffee?” 

“You did! It didn’t taste like crap at all!” 

He wasn’t sure if he was imagining it or she sounded almost accusatory at that. 

“It didn’t taste like crap at all,” he repeated, looking at her with a blank expression. “That is something for the customer feedback highlight reel.” It seemed like she was only now becoming aware of just how that had sounded and he had trouble not giving in to laughter when he saw her face change from realisation to shock.

“Fuck! I mean, damn! That sounded so rude…” She looked regretful almost immediately. “I am so sorry!” She took a deep breath. “Ok, trying again: Good day! I am a horribly rude person who is sorry and really likes the coffee here. It’s good!” 

At this point Cullen had just given in to full out laughing. “It’s all good!” he said between laughs while closing the lid on her drink and handing it over. “One Cinnamon Sprinkled Latte to go.” She handed him another five dollar bill, putting her wallet away with a nod before he could even try to give her the change. 

“Thank you!” she beamed at him and for a moment the only thought in his head was that she had a very pleasant smile. When he finally remembered to politely answer a ‘you’re welcome’ she was already halfway out the door. 

“See ya!” With a small wave that made the cup sway dangerously in her hand for a moment, she left the shop. 

After that, she quickly became a regular. Coming by the coffee shop almost every day they were open and every day getting the same drink again. She always came in around the same time, when it was usually pretty quiet in the shop, so each time, they exchanged a few words and with each time, he gained a little puzzle piece about her. The more days passed, the more he learned about her, the more she started to fascinate him.

The mystery woman who hated coffee, but bought one from him every day anyways. Who tended to talk without thinking more often than not, only to become suddenly very eloquent when she had to talk herself out of whatever her sometimes downright rude sounding comments had gotten her into. Who was so easy to talk to, telling him about her sisters and brother, her childhood dog and her favourite school subject, but who’s last name he had no clue about. He quickly found himself looking forward to seeing her each day.

Just like today, when she came and started smiling widely the moment she saw him.

“Cullen, am I glad to see you!”

He shot her a curious look, already in the process of getting the ingredients for her coffee together. She was? 

“You weren’t here yesterday,” she added, looking almost upset at the note.

“That was my free day, yes,” he responded while pouring some extra syrup into her cup.

She sighed. “Your colleague was nice enough, really likable girl,” she mentioned but something in her tone made it obvious that there was a ‘but’ coming.

Cullen had to think for a moment about who had been working here during the afternoon shift yesterday before he remembered. “Belinda?” He shot Cassia a curious look. “What’s wrong with Belinda?”

Cassia shook her head, holding up her hand in a gesture of denial. “Nothing is wrong with her, she is absolutely charming. Smart too, I think? But her coffee…”

Cullen blinked. Belinda had been working at the shop for months already and he had never heard someone complain about her coffee before. “It wasn’t good?”

Cassia looked conflicted. “It was still good, I really don’t want to get her into trouble. It was perfectly fine.” She shrugged. “But it was different from yours.”

Cullen was relieved that it wasn’t an actual complaint after all. “Well, every barista works slightly different, that is probably why,” he explained as he handed her her cup. 

Cassia took a sip and the smile she sent him was nothing short of charming. “Ah, this one is absolutely perfect again. Thank you, Cullen.” She had put the money onto the counter already as she suddenly stilled, her eyes glued to the clock on the wall. “Shoot,” she cursed. “I am so late already, my sister is going to kill me.” And with that, she was half way out of the door already. “See you soon!”

Before he could answer, she was gone again, leaving Cullen to smile to himself at the thought that she had noticed he put the extra syrup into her drink every time, even though she probably couldn't pinpoint that it had been that.

The next day, she didn’t show up at her usual time. Cullen didn’t want to admit it, but he had been waiting for her, subtly looking towards the door for the past half hour, slowly getting used to the thought that she just might not show today.

When the little bell on the door rang he looked up again immediately, but it wasn’t her either. But another customer meant at least some distraction and with his best service amile he greeted the woman who had just entered. 

“How can I help you?” he asked with a friendly smile.

“Just a moment.” The woman began rummaging around in her purse before pulling a list out of it, going over it quickly. “I need two tall cappuccinos, double shot with no sugar, one small vanilla latte and…” She narrowed her eyes at the paper, then at him, getting stuck on his name tag. “And apparently one  _ ‘ask Cullen, he knows what I like to drink there’. _ ”

He could feel his eyebrows raise up. As if to explain it further the woman handed him the list. 

“Cassia said you’d know what she meant,” she explained. “I thought maybe my sister is just really invested in not telling me what she likes to drink, but given this place and her absolute lack of knowledge about coffee, I am suspecting she actually has no idea what she usually drinks here.”

Something clicked at her words, letting Cullen connect the dots. Cassia had mentioned she had sisters. And that she worked closely with them. He looked the woman over quickly. This did not seem to be the twin sister she had talked about. “You must be Bethany,” he concluded as he went to work on the drinks.

“I am,” she sounded surprised. “Wow, Cassia is really here a lot, isn’t she?”

Cullen just shrugged. “Barista-customer privileges forbid me from actually divulging that information,” he answered with a hint of humor, while foaming the milk.

Across the counter Bethany had to laugh. “She said you were funny.” 

Cullen perked up at that. “She talks about me?”

Bethany laughed even more at that. “I’m sorry, but sister-sister privileges also forbid me from discussing this.” She grinned at him and Cullen couldn’t help but laugh along.

“Have to respect that,” he nodded as he put the finished drinks into a tray and swiped the credit card Bethany handed him through the register. 

“You know,” Bethany suddenly said with a secretive smile, “we buried Cassia in work today, but I know for a fact that she wanted to do the coffee run herself and was really mad that we wouldn’t let her leave her desk.”

Cullen couldn’t help but smile at that as he handed back her card. “What about the sister-sister privileges all of a sudden?” he asked, amusement clearly in his voice.

Bethany gave him a conspiratorial wink. “Those stand but she didn’t make me promise not to tell you this bit actually.” With a self satisfied grin, she picked up her order. 

Cullen was still busy feeling unreasonably happy about this conversation when she started to leave. “Have a nice day!” he called after her, getting a  _ ‘you too!’ _ in return before the door closed behind her. 

Maybe, he thought, he should try to spend more than just a couple of minutes in a row with Cassia one of these days. 


	2. Do you want cake with that?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You actually know this stuff?” Cassia asked, surprised by his almost casual listing of the things she had been doing wrong.
> 
> Cullen gave her an amused smile. “Did you assume that than this was my only or my full-time job even?”
> 
> She almost felt bad for a moment, worried that she had offended him before she saw the wide grin on his face. “In my excuse, you are here almost every single time I show up, so what was I supposed to think?” she shot back, grinning herself.
> 
> This caused Cullen to outright laugh. “Cassia, you come by at the exact same time in the afternoon each day…”

She was rather early for once, having more than half an hour of time left as she entered the coffee shop. It was almost empty, only a few customers sitting around, engrossed in conversation or a book as Cassia went up to the counter. 

“Welcome, how can I help you?” came a perky and noticeably female voice and just a moment later, Belinda slid into her field of view.

Cassia’s disappointment must have been visible on her face because a moment later, the other woman smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry, you just missed him, he had to run an errand, but I’ll try my absolute best to at least provide the high standard coffee experience Cullen seems to have set,” she winked at her, already getting busy with making the coffee.

Cassia felt her cheeks redden in embarrassment as she realized that Cullen must have told Belinda about her remarks. “I am so sorry, I swear I really didn’t want to make it sound like I was complaining!” she hurried to say. “It was just something I noticed and… sorry again! Did I get you in trouble?”

“Trouble? With Cullen? Nah,” Belinda assured her with a casual shrug. “It did get me an extra lesson on how to make that particular coffee specifically for when you come by, though,” she laughed and Cassia felt something in her flutter at the thought of Cullen going out of his way to make sure she liked the coffee, even if he wasn’t here.

“That’s… nice of him,” she said, still smiling. “And nice of you to take the extra time, I am not bringing in that much business with my one cup per day after all.”

“Don’t mention it. Store philosophy really. Making each customer smile.” Belinda was busy with the espresso machine, talking a bit louder so that Cassia could still hear her.

“Really? You go out of your way for each customer like that? Wow!” Cassia was impressed. That was a nice way of doing business, and in her experience really not the standard. 

Belinda sent her a wink. “Well, sorta!” she said slowly. “Not quite as much, to be honest.”

And there it was again, the small flutter of excitement in Cassia. At the counter, Belinda was finished with her drink, handing it to her. 

“Go on, try it,” she encouraged her. “I am under strict orders not to let you leave until I get it right!”

With a raised eyebrow, Cassia tried a careful sip of the still hot coffee and smiled. “Perfect!”

“Yay! And at the very first try even,” Belinda grinned enthusiastically. “Well, except for the eight cups I ruined when Cullen taught me.” She seemed quite satisfied with herself. “Now you can at least get the coffee you like, even if you have to live with missing out on what I can only presume is horribly boring small talk by my boss.”

Cassia looked up at her. “I don’t think he’s boring at all.” She paused momentarily. “Cullen is your boss?”

Belinda nodded. “Has been working here longer than any other employee.” With a humorous smile, she added, “And the guy talks about nothing but numbers or how to rearrange the cupcakes to make the display look better.” She sent Cassia a measuring look. “But to each their own I guess?”

Cassia had finished paying for her coffee and just nodded along, hesitating before going again, wondering if she should just ask what she wanted to know. “So…” she started before trailing off.

Belinda seemed to take pity on her. “He’ll be here tomorrow, usual times,” she said with a chuckle, and Cassia mumbled a grateful thanks before wishing her a good day and leaving again quickly.

The next day had her standing in an actual line for her coffee for the first time. Cullen hadn’t been kidding when he said that it was busy an hour earlier. Cassia had left her home in frustration, her laptop in her bag, hoping a change of location could maybe help her with her impossible seeming task. She had seen the occasional person working while sitting in here, having coffee and some snacks from time to time during previous visits, and it seemed as good an idea as anything else she had tried so far. Luckily, the line of customers seemed to be people who took their coffee to go and there were still a few free tables when it was her turn.  

“Cassia,” Cullen greeted her, looking surprised but not at all unhappy to see her. “You’re early.”

“I had to get out of my flat before I went insane.” She smiled at him. When she saw him go for the paper cup she added, “In house today, not to go. I thought I’d give a change of scenery a try and get some work done here.”

Cullen switched to a regular cup immediately. “You want something with that? The carrot cake is really good today.” 

She was definitely tempted, the display already looking delicious, but she shook her head. “I think I’ll go for that later, keep it as a reward for when I have gotten  _ something _ done at least.”

He chuckled. “That bad, huh? Then I hope you can work with this noise. It’s going to be this busy for at least another half hour.” 

“I can work around noise, that’s no problem,” Cassia shrugged. “The office I use at my sister’s is usually surrounded by small people screaming bloody murder.”

Cullen gave her a questioning look as he handed her the coffee, and Cassia had to laugh at his slightly confused looking face. 

“She runs a shelter for homeless kids. I do the bookkeeping and the finances,” she explained, sighing briefly as the smell of the coffee reached her nose. 

“Then good luck with your work,” he sent her another smile. “I’ll talk to you later, when it’s time for your celebratory cake.” With a wink at her, he turned to the next customer and Cassia made her way through the shop, settling down at a small table at the back window. It gave her a pleasant view into the garden behind the shop as she took the first sip of coffee and started to set up her laptop.

As she had told Cullen, the noise around her didn’t bother her at all. She had little trouble concentrating on the open spreadsheets in front of her. What  _ gave _ her trouble though was what was on her screen. Ever since she had started to work with Adriene, she had been mostly responsible for everything number related. She wasn’t a bookkeeper or an accountant by trade, but her law studies had at least skimmed some basic economics lessons. It had been enough so far, but now Adriene wanted to, no, needed to expand, and that meant they needed additional funds. Cassia knew where to get them, knew their chances of getting almost anything they applied for were more than good with just how well Adriene had build up the shelter. The work her sister had been doing for the past years had been nothing short but astounding. 

The crux about their current dilemma was that while Cassia knew where and how, the actual execution required something she had never done before. Which had led her to spend the past week trying to learn everything she needed to set up an actual, valid and unbreakable business plan. Which turned out to be a lot harder than she had anticipated. When the noise started to quiet down around her, she hadn’t progressed at all and the next time she looked up and at the clock it had been more than an hour. Her coffee was empty by now and she still felt like she hadn’t done anything productive. She was about to try focussing back on her screen again when a shadow fell onto her table.

“Not going well, I assume?” came Cullen’s voice and Cassia nodded in resignation.

“Not even a little bit,” she sighed. “It’s that obvious?”

Cullen took away her empty cup before he put a new one there, filled with a steaming hot version of her by now favourite drink. “You have a very… expressive face,” he said casually, before putting another plate down, this time with a piece of cake on it. “You’ve been looking like the entire world is annoying you for the last hour, so I thought you might need the cake as a pick me up sooner rather than later.”

Cassia shot him a grateful smile. A piece of cake definitely sounded better than staring at things she didn’t quite grasp yet for another hour. She noticed that the shop was again almost empty and not a single customer was in line anymore. With a nod she gestured at the chair opposite her. “You wanna sit with me for a moment? Or do you have too much to do behind the scenes?”

Cullen gave the shop a quick once over. “I don’t want to disturb you…” he answered but Cassia shook her head immediately.

“Nonsense. I’m taking a full on break.”

“In that case…” He smiled at her again before sitting down. “Feel free to tell me how much you like the cake. And don’t feel held back by the fact that it’s a recipe I put a lot of thought into at all, please.”

“Oh?” Cassia grinned back at him. He did not only sell coffee but made cake too? “Then I will try my best to spare your feelings in case I hate it.”

With a chuckle, he leaned back in his chair. “You are too kind!” With a nod at her laptop he asked, “So, what gives you so much trouble it drives you out of your home and makes you look like your pet just died?” 

“It’s stupid really,” Cassia huffed, pushing the laptop aside and pulling the plate with the cake in front of her. “My sister is expanding the shelter and I need to write a business plan so we can apply for proper funding.” She tried a piece of the cake, talking on regardless. “And I thought I could quickly learn how to - oh my god, this cake is amazing!” Cassia interrupted herself sending Cullen an approving look, immediately taking another bite.

Cullen seemed happy about her reaction, chuckling to himself before he asked, “I take it you are not a business person then?”

She shook her head, swallowing before she could continue. “Not at all. I’m an attorney for social and environmental law. I thought I had enough of the base knowledge, but it turned out to be much harder than I thought.” 

Cullen nodded in understanding as she took a large sip of her coffee before getting back at the cake. “May I take a look?” he asked and when Cassia gave him the go ahead with a nod he turned her laptop around, taking in what she had been working on.

Cassia ate the rest of the cake in silence as he was engrossed in her spreadsheets, occasionally clicking through them, back and forth. 

“You are kind of going about this the wrong way,” he finally said after another couple of minutes. “You want to set this up for a non-profit, but your plan follows mostly the guidelines for something that generates revenue.” He clicked through to another page again. “You’re notes are a bit all over the place but generally you want to start from your end goal and then work your way down to your proposal, to make it more coherent.”

“You actually know this stuff?” Cassia asked, surprised by his almost casual listing of the things she had been doing wrong.

Cullen gave her an amused smile. “Did you assume that than this was my only or my full-time job even?”

She almost felt bad for a moment, worried that she had offended him before she saw the wide grin on his face. “In my excuse, you are here almost every single time I show up, so what was I supposed to think?” she shot back, grinning herself.

This caused Cullen to outright laugh. “Cassia, you come by at the exact same time in the afternoon each day…” 

“Pah, details!” She waved her hand. “You know what I do, but you’ve been holding out on me, mister. So when did you learn all that and what else do you do?”

Cullen put her laptop back in its original place, before settling back. “I got my MBA at Sloan and then went to help my father with his work. Took over the family company a little while back.”

Cassia felt her eyes widen. “You went to MIT?” She shook her head, trying hard to imagine Cullen in a stiff suit instead of the casual clothes she had always seen him in. It didn’t fit together at all in her mind. Something else didn’t as well. “And yet you work in a coffee shop in the afternoon?”

Cullen shrugged casually, as if he had heard that question before dozens of times already. “I like working with people. It’s relaxing and I only do it a couple of hours per week.” 

“So you have another job to relax from your… job?” It sounded peculiar to Cassia but Cullen nodded again.

“Pretty much. But honestly? This feels more like a hobby,” he noted and Cassia had to grin again.

“A hobby you get paid for!” she realized. “Pretty nice actually.”

He laughed again, and not for the first time Cassia thought what a nice sound that was. “True, though I really don’t do this for the money. The shop is nice and my colleagues are pretty great.” He held her gaze for a moment before he added, “So are the customers, really.”

Cassia felt the beginnings of a blush rising up on her face as the bell above the door took Cullen’s attention away from her, saving her from any embarrassment.

“I’ll be right there,” Cullen called over before getting up and taking her empty plate from the table. “Listen,” he said quieter, just talking to her again. “Belinda takes over for me in about an hour and I have nothing planned. I could go over that plan with you, help you set it up.” He paused briefly. “Only if you want to, of course. Feel free to tell me to mind my own business.”

Cassia gave him her widest smile. “I’d really like for you to mind my business, actually,” she said, only realizing a second after she had spoken just how much double meaning the phrase held. “I mean, my business-plan. I’d really appreciate the help.” She kept smiling, hoping it didn’t show that she was just a bit flustered.

“You got it,” Cullen winked at her before getting back to his job and the already waiting customer.

He kept his word, and a bit over an hour later he was back at her table, two fresh cups of coffee with him. She saw Belinda wave at her from behind the counter as she looked up, and with a smile, Cassia waved back before she started explaining to Cullen, in much more detail than before, what kind of funds they were applying for and how they had planned to go about it. Cullen actually took notes to her astonishment before he started to walk and talk her through every step necessary to build up her plan the right way. 

“So you know where to start and what to look for if you have to do this again some day,” he said, as he let her repeat every step he did once so she would get a feel for the thought process.

Cassia sent him a clearly fake-disappointed look. “You mean I can’t just come to you again the next time? I actually have to learn something?”

Cullen looked like he was pondering her words for a moment before he pulled the laptop towards him with a grin. “On second thought, better if I do everything then. Give you another reason to spend half a day in here.”

Cassia was delighted by the way he kept casually flirting with her. “A new strategy for generating more business?” she asked with a twinkle in her eye. “Keep me here a few hours so I buy more and more coffee and the occasional cake, I see!”

Just in that moment Belinda came by their table, picking up the empty cups. “That would have been a great plan actually,” she interjected with a grin. “If he hadn’t put everything at your table on the house that is.” With a wink, she was gone again, leaving Cassia to raise an eyebrow at Cullen. 

“Tell me honestly, are you actually any good at this business thing?” she asked playfully and Cullen put the laptop back in between them with a grin. 

“I do alright,” he said simply before leading her attention back to the five-year-prognosis they had been writing. 

When Cassia went home much later that evening, she had an almost complete plan in her bag and enough new information in her head to probably finish it by tomorrow. The funniest bit probably was that it hadn’t felt much like actual work at all. She had actually been having a lot of fun all through the afternoon and the evening thanks to Cullen’s presence and his humorous way of giving her a crash course in business 101 while keeping her supplied with food and coffee. She’d definitely have to think of something to pay him back for that, perhaps in the form of an invitation to dinner, she thought. Something that would let her show her appreciation and would also make it possible to spend more time with him, maybe even outside the coffee shop for a chance.


	3. The best-laid plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I actually wanted to ask you, how do you feel about dinner? With me, I mean?”
> 
> Cassia stopped laughing immediately, looking directly at him. For a moment, she seemed startled, but then a smile spread over her face. “You ruined my elaborate plan of subtly asking you to dinner, thinly veiled in the disguise of wanting to thank you for your help, I’ll have you know!”
> 
> Cullen’s own smile got even wider at that. “If it helps, I would have said yes to that.”

Cassia looked to be in a way better mood when she came by the next day, greeting both him and Belinda enthusiastically.

“I get two people making my coffee today?” she asked with a wide smile.

Belinda shook her head. “Don’t mind me, I am doing inventory.” She narrowed her eyes at Cullen. “Or rather, I would be doing inventory if someone could stop talking my ear off for a moment…”

Cullen gave her a look of shock that was completely over the top. “And here I thought you had my back, but I’ve been betrayed!”

Belinda only chuckled. “I have your back. I’m right behind you to kick you if necessary.” With a grin, she turned to Cassia. “Have fun, you two!” Without any other explanation, she disappeared into the backroom.

“What was that all about?” Cassia asked curiously, and Cullen started to get her coffee ready.

“Nothing really important, I was just complaining about having appointments I don’t want to go to,” he explained. Ever since he had taken over for his father, he also had to take over all the boring meetings and get-togethers he had successfully avoided before. Now, avoidance wasn’t really an option anymore. He couldn’t even justify simply not going to himself anymore. Not if he didn’t have a very good reason at least.

“Tell me about it,” Cassia sighed. “My mother keeps dragging me to places I’d rather not be far too often.”

“My sympathies,” he said emphatically before his mind went back to the evening before. “How did doing the rest of the plan go, actually? You got it done?” 

At his words, Cassia almost bounced in excitement. “I did! And all thanks to you.” She gave him a grateful look and Cullen smiled to himself. It hadn’t been a chore helping her, not even for a single moment. Cassia had been attentive and actually seemed excited to learn and understand everything he had helped her with. It hadn’t hurt that a good part of the afternoon and evening had been spent crowded together in front of a single computer screen. Whenever he had turned his head slightly, she had been so close that concentration actually threatened to become an issue once or twice.

“You picked up everything really quickly, so I definitely don’t deserve all the credit,” he said as he put the lid onto her cup before handing it to her. 

“No, but you made me understand this! I finished it this morning and sent it over to my sister already.” Her excitement was infectious and he felt himself grinning along with her. “We are going to get that funding, Cullen. I can feel it!”

Cullen chuckled. “You better get it, or else you start blaming me…” He thought he had been obviously joking, but the way Cassia’s face fell, she obviously took it differently.

“I wouldn’t… you helped so much, that would be really awful of me.” She sent him a worried look. “Have I been that rude again?”

“No, not at all!” Cullen hurried to say. “Cassia, it was only a joke. Granted, not a very good one, but you have absolutely nothing to worry about. I don’t think you are rude at all.”

He could see that she was still a bit concerned but she seemed to relax again. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “It’s just… I guess sometimes I hear my mother’s voice chiding me before I hear the humor.”

“She’s that hard on you?” he asked, full of sympathy.

“She means well,” Cassia sighed. “But she is from the more old school tradition of thinking I should put more effort into traditional family values, and most of all, that I should be seen rather than heard,” she shrugged. “Something I’ve never quite mastered.”

Cullen tried to be as encouraging as he could when he smiled at her. “Well, I might be biased here, but I for one am very glad about that. I like hearing you.” With a small wink, he added, “Seeing you is an added bonus, though.”

When Cassia started laughing and he noticed a slight flush in her cheeks, he felt more than just happy. Maybe Belinda was right, maybe he really needed a kick. Before he could think twice about it, he took the leap.

“I actually wanted to ask you, how do you feel about dinner? With me, I mean?” 

Cassia stopped laughing immediately, looking directly at him. For a moment, she seemed startled, but then a smile spread over her face. “You ruined my elaborate plan of subtly asking you to dinner, thinly veiled in the disguise of wanting to thank you for your help, I’ll have you know!”

Cullen’s own smile got even wider at that. “If it helps, I would have said yes to that.”

She chuckled again. “It does help! I was really nervous about it too, would have probably needed a few more days to lead up to that.” With a pointed look at him, she continued, “If it helps you, I’m going to say yes as well.”

A feeling of excitement ran through him. He had hoped that, after their casual flirting, the attraction between them had been as mutual as he had thought it was, but it was a relief to get some confirmation on that nonetheless.

“So, what do you think about Saturday evening?” he asked.

“Yes, I’d lov-, fuck, I can’t!” Cassia’s face fell mid-sentence. “Shoot, I have a thing on Saturday already.” Apologetically, she looked at him. “And after promising a yes…”

Cullen was at the brink of laughter again. “No problem. Being a bit unpredictable, I like that,” he grinned. “How about Sunday then?”

He could see relief and excitement on her face. “Sunday works fine.” A moment later, she was pushing her phone into his hands. “Give me your number and I’ll text you. Then we can get in touch for a time and place during the weekend?”

Cullen couldn’t remember why he had hesitated asking her out earlier that day as he did as she asked, putting down his number into her contacts before handing her phone back. A moment later he felt his own phone buzzing.

“There you go,” Cassia grinned. “Now I just have to survive this weekend until Sunday evening.”

“You’re not looking forward to your Saturday thing?” he asked casually. Before him, Cassia sighed deeply. 

“Not at all. It will be an entire day hiding from small talk and trying to dodge my mother’s never-ending matchmaking efforts.”

“Matchmaking?” Cullen asked in confusion.

“She drags me along to some stupid social function and then keeps introducing  _ ‘suitable candidates for marriage and family planning’ _ to me,” she explained, complete with overdone airquotes. “According to her, at least.” Cassia was obviously unhappy about the prospect.

With a grin, Cullen gave her a pointed look. “Should I be worried if I am still hoping to take you on a date the day after I mean?”

It got her mood up a little bit at least as she smiled at him again. “God no, not even a little.”

“I take it what your mother deems suitable candidates for marriage does not coincide with your idea then?” he teased and Cassia shook her head vigorously. 

“Not at all. My mother’s criteria is very fixed.” Cassia started listing said criteria on her fingers. “They are all very rich, they are all spoiled brats and they all look like that one guy in highschool who is still bitter, twenty years later, that he didn’t get a date for prom.” She sighed again. “It’s a complete disaster, every single time.”

“Wow. Now I almost pity these men having to meet you with this attitude,” he said dryly before grinning at her again.

“Ha, don’t pity them! They could, and probably will, easily buy themselves a much prettier bride to be from the change in their pockets,” Cassia huffed. 

Looking at her, Cullen seriously doubted that somehow.

“You don’t have a high opinion about rich people, huh?” came Belinda’s voice from behind him, accompanied by her laughter as she put down a karton full of new napkins on the counter.

“I don’t have a high opinion about high society people,” Cassia corrected, nodding emphatically to make her point. “There is a difference.”

Cullen had been sympathetic before already, but what she described sounded like the opposite of a good time indeed. It would be up to him then to make sure the rest of her weekend would be so much better. He was already starting to plan on just where to take her that was basically the opposite of what she had just described.

“Well, my challenge for the weekend is set then,” he gave her a conspiratory look. “Making sure the Sunday makes up for the awful rest in a grand way.”

The smile that appeared on Cassia’s face was a bit different than the ones he had seen before. Not as wide but the way she looked at him was almost… fond?

“That’s not gonna be hard,” she said softly. “You’re gonna be there after all, right?” 

He heard Belinda give a tiny squeal in excitement next to him before trying to cover that up with a cough.

When it was Cassia’s time to go again a couple of minutes later, they parted with each other’s phone numbers and a planned date in the very near future, and Cullen couldn’t be happier. Granted, with her being busy on Saturday, he hadn’t gotten the perfect excuse to dropout of his work appointments after all, but if she could live through her mother’s life-planning day on Saturday, he could make it through a few boring speeches and some handshaking. Especially now that he had a Sunday to plan for. 


	4. All out on my own

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So,” Cullen murmured quietly next to her. “I am the ‘hot coffee guy’?”
> 
> Cassia flinched slightly. Not very likely then. Flustered, she looked everywhere but at him while she desperately thought of something to say. “Uhm… you see, technically…” While she was still searching for words, a chuckle made her finally look up. When had he gotten so close? They were almost close enough to touch as he grinned at her.
> 
> “So… was that ‘hot’ in relation to the coffee I make or…?” He wiggled his eyebrows at that in the most over exaggerated way possible, and Cassia couldn't help but laugh.
> 
> “Shut up!” she mumbled while gently shoving at his shoulder.

Cassia congratulated herself from escaping another unwanted conversation after less than five minutes of small talk already. The party her mother had insisted she’d come to had been every bit as excruciating Cassia had feared it would be. So far, Leandra had introduced no less than three men she deemed to be  _ ‘eligible bachelors’ _ to her, and Cassia was slowly running out of bathroom emergencies she could fake before here mother would catch on. 

The rest of the party didn’t even seem that bad. A bit stuffy for her taste, too many people being way more interested in making deals and gaining opportunities, and not enough people simply enjoying themselves. But Cassia had learned years ago that these events her mother was so fond of were not actually there for enjoyment. They were parties in name only. Still, Cassia would probably enjoy them much more if she could just spend her time pendling between the open bar and the buffet, not having to worry about meeting yet another person she had to politely get rid of. It was a chance to go all out with dressing up at least every once in a while, one of the few upsides, she thought as she passed by a mirror, taking in her own appearance. 

Leandra had been complaining their entire way here about her daughter looking like a peacock trying to show off, but Cassia had managed to tune her out. For a while, she had deliberately underdressed for these events, counting on the fact that her own sloppiness would drive the men her mother kept shoving at her away faster than anything she could say to them, but Leandra had seen through that quickly. Now Cassia had settled into dressing in a way that technically fulfilled all of her mother’s standards, but still somehow managed to be not what she wanted. Always a little bit too colourful, too out there, a cleavage too low or a dress that looked perfectly appropriate from the front while having a scandalously deep cut back. Today, it was a bit of a combination of all of these. But the dress was a designer piece, and with a pout about having gone all out for the occasion while dropping the price range, her mother had finally conceded.

Cassia took her amusement wherever she could. After all, the rest of the night promised a distinctive lack of fun. She thought about getting something to drink. Perhaps some champagne to hold onto for the inevitable. Still in thoughts, she turned, only to bump into someone.

“Oh no, I apologize, I didn’t see… Cassia?” came a voice from a little higher up. A familiar voice that sounded full of confusion. When she looked up, she stared into Cullen’s face in shock.

“What? How?” She stumbled over her words. “What are you even doing here?” 

The first thought that ran through her mind as she saw him was woefully inappropriate. She had been so wrong when she thought that Cullen and suits would be a strange combination. It wasn’t. Instead, he looked absolutely at home in this look and she felt herself swallow, her throat suddenly dry. 

Before she could think more coherent thoughts or he even got a chance to answer, she felt an arm around her. “Cassia! Did mom already find you?” Bethany sounded like she had definitely spent the evening at the bar so far. “She wanted you to meet… oh, hello!” 

Bethany stopped herself as she narrowed her eyes at them. For a brief second, Cassia had a glimmer of hope that her sister would not notice or comment on the strange situation in front of her, but even if Bethany seemed to have had a decent amount to drink already, she was not doing her sister that particular favour. Her eyes went back and forth between them before recognition lit up her face. “Cass!” she almost yelled in excitement. “You managed to smuggle your hot coffee guy into this? Respect!” 

Before Cassia could even try to get Bethany to keep her voice down, her sister kept going on. “You clean up nicely!” she nodded at Cullen before she winked at Cassia. “Congrats!” Something new seemed to have caught her eye just then, and as quickly as she had shown up, she left them to their own devices again, rushing over to talk to someone else. 

Cassia was sure it was at least partly her imagination but Bethany’s sudden disappearance left behind a remarkable moment of silence. Cassia didn’t dare to look at Cullen who had not said anything yet. Just how likely was it that they could just continue being very still for a moment and then completely forget about anything potentially awkward between them?

“So,” Cullen murmured quietly next to her. “I am the  _ ‘hot coffee guy’ _ ?”

Cassia flinched slightly. Not very likely then. Flustered, she looked everywhere but at him while she desperately thought of something to say. “Uhm… you see, technically…” While she was still searching for words, a chuckle made her finally look up. When had he gotten so close? They were almost close enough to touch as he grinned at her. 

“So… was that ‘hot’ in relation to the coffee I make or…?” He wiggled his eyebrows at that in the most over exaggerated way possible, and Cassia couldn't help but laugh. 

“Shut up!” she mumbled while gently shoving at his shoulder. 

“But if it might be about the coffee, I have to know!” he insisted, now with a bright smile all over his face. “Call it quality assurance, customer feedback if you will.” 

At that, Cassia snorted slightly, feeling herself be swept away by the playful banter. “So I am a customer right now?” She gave a pointed look towards the large group of party guests engrossed in conversation around them. “Even here?”

“Always,” came his response as he winked at her. Cassia raised her eyebrows at him in mock outrage.

“And do you make a habit out of dating your customers?” she asked with a grin of her own. There was something in his eyes, a flash of something Cassia couldn’t exactly pinpoint at the moment as he shook his head.

“Technically, this is not a date,” he shrugged, looking almost apologetic. Cassia let out a small laugh. 

“Well, then technically,” she illustrated with elaborate air quotes, “I don’t actually have to answer this.” She was still amused when she focussed on the most important question again. “But seriously though, what are you doing here?” she asked again. “Did you know I was going to be here?”

“No, I had no idea. Honestly.” Cullen shook his head, but he was still smiling, obviously happy about the current situation. “Remember me complaining to Belinda about not wanting to go somewhere? This was the event it was about, actually.”

Cassia’s eyebrows went up. “But you asked me out to dinner for tonight…”

He nodded. “I had fully planned on ditching this thing if you would have said yes. These parties are really not…” He trailed off, looking over the room briefly before continuing in a lower voice. “I am not very comfortable at these sorts of events. I have to show up to some of them, though, and you were busy, so…”

Cassia wanted to ask him more questions, but from the corner of her eye she saw her mother entering the room. Quickly, she took a step to the side, trying to disappear behind one of the larger plants in the room.

“What are you doing?” Cullen sent her a confused look. 

She subtly nodded her head into the direction of Leandra. “Hiding from my mother. She wants to introduce someone to me.”

Cullen followed her movement, looking curiously to where she had indicated. “Wait, Leandra Amell is you mother?” he suddenly asked and the questions Cassia wanted to ask him only kept piling up. She nodded.

“And she has no doubt found another one of those weirdos to throw at me,” she said just as she was realizing that her hiding efforts had been in vain. 

“There you are darling!” Leandra was already next to her, smiling pleasantly but with a stern look in her eyes that made it obvious to Cassia that she was not getting out of his for the moment. “And just at the perfect spot, too, I see you met dear Cullen already!”

“Wait, what?” Cassia could do nothing but blink in confusion. Leandra shook her head with a small ‘tsk’ at her inattention.

“Cullen Rutherford, remember?” She looked at her expectantly but Cassia was still dazed. “Or have you only ever met his father? Possible! He took over that import conglomerate Malcom has been doing the legal work for,” she explained. “About a year ago, wasn’t it?”

Suddenly the bits and pieces started to make sense for Cassia, fitting into place with some things she had worked on when she had still been employed by her father.

“One and a half years ago, actually,” Cassia said as the wheels in her head ran together.

“You know about that?” Now Cullen was the one looking visibly confused and Cassia gave him a tentative smile, accompanied by a shrug.

“I proofread and corrected all the fine print areas in the legal contracts for that,” she explained, watching fascinated how he was obviously connecting the dots as well.

“That was when she was still working for her father,” Leandra interjected and Cassia had to hold herself back from rolling her eyes. Her mother had never made a secret about just how much she disapproved of her choice to not go into corporate law, to not work towards taking over her father’s law firm one day. Even in such a simple sentence Leandra’s tone was obvious. Luckily, her mother changed the topic immediately. “I hope you are enjoying the party so far?” she said, clearly directed at Cullen.

Cullen didn’t miss a beat. “Of course, it is absolutely delightful,” he said with a friendly smile. “I’ve heard you had a hand in organising a lot of this, and let me just say you have wonderful taste, Leandra.”

Her mother was clearly charmed by his politeness. “Thank you, my dear.” With that, she turned back at her daughter, and Cassia suddenly felt on edge at the gleam in her mother’s eyes. “Cassia darling, I wanted to introduce you two all evening. Cullen’s company is branching out into some sort of charity or good will events and I thought you could tell him all about your and your sister’s little project.” 

Cassia sighed, trying her best to not look at Cullen. “It’s not a project, it’s my job, mom,” she mumbled. As much as her mother disapproved of her choices, Cassia wished that she would at least not make it that obvious to everyone around all the time.

“It’s actually really impressive,” Cullen suddenly spoke up. “The youth shelter I mean. I’ve seen mentions of it in the local newspaper lately, even rousing up some political talk.” He spoke seamlessly and even from how little attention Cassia herself spent on the local news, she knew he was right about these things. Warmth spread through her at the thought that he must have actually paid attention, perhaps even looked it up after she told him about it.

“Oh really? How wonderful.” Leandra still sounded polite, but Cassia knew that as nice as the thought behind Cullen’s encouragement was, it would probably not make a difference. She was preparing herself for another awkward silence or her mother being even more on the nose about Cassia’s work when Cullen suddenly spoke again. 

“Leandra, would you be terribly upset if I steal Cassia away for a while? I’d love to hear all about her work actually and get to know your daughter a bit better in the process,” he said so smoothly Cassia was actually impressed. Even more so when she saw her mother being delighted at the idea. 

“Oh no, don’t mind me at all,” Leandra said sweetly, already stepping away. “You young people go and have fun.”

A moment later, she was gone, with Cassia still staring at the point her mother had stood only seconds ago. What was going on? She looked at Cullen and back to the empty spot.

“What the hell was that?” she asked, forgetting about technically being in very polite company. 

Cullen was chuckling. “That was your mother, introducing you to one of the weirdos it seems.” He offered her his arm with a tiny bow. “Cullen Weirdo Rutherford, at your service.”

Still a bit confused, Cassia took it nonetheless. “I am starting to think we really should have exchanged last names at some point,” she noted dryly as he carefully navigated them through the groups of people, aiming in the direction for the buffet.

“Would you have liked me better if you had known?” he asked curiously and Cassia shook her head.

“No, probably not.” She sighed. “The opposite is much more likely actually.”

For a moment, he stopped and just looked at her. “Then I am rather glad we didn’t.”

The words hung between them and the completely serious way he said them made Cassia smile. “You know what? Me too,” she agreed, starting to feel a lot better about the evening already. If she thought about it, it could even turn out to be a great one for once. “On the plus side: I can just keep talking to you all evening and it will not only keep me from dying of boredom, it will also actually keep my mother happy and most likely away from us.” She beamed at him. “This is genius!”

Another laugh from Cullen. “Glad to be of service!”

“Unless…” For a moment she worried about being impolite, selfish even, again. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to be presumptuous! If you have something better or more important to do…”

“Cassia, I already asked you out, didn’t I?” Cullen interrupted her before she could start rambling. “Just say we are getting a bonus pre-date here. A practice run for the one tomorrow.”

“A practice date?” Cassia had to grin at the idea. It sounded ridiculous, but Cullen looked at her full of enthusiasm.

“Let’s just pretend it is tomorrow already, and I took you to this gorgeous all-you-can-eat place,” he suggested, as they arrived at the buffet. “We’ll try out all the food, talk about all the things we really want to know about the other until we end up at the bar.”

Cassia was chuckling at the way he was describing it. “Alright,” she agreed. “Let’s practice. For tomorrow,” she said with a wink. Her arm was still in his, as they started to look for the plates, laughing together, and Cassia realized this might very well the first time she would actually enjoy something her mother dragged her into. 


	5. In polite company

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damn it,” she cursed. Looking around them briefly. “Right now, I really hate that we are at this particular party again.”  
> This was definitely not what Cullen had expected her to say. Almost a bit taken aback, he gave her a questioning look. “Why, all of a sudden?”  
> Cassia moved just a little bit closer, lowering her voice. “Because right now, I really want to kiss you, but I am guessing that is something that would stir up the party just a little bit too much.”

Spending the evening with Cullen had been absolutely wonderful so far. They had followed his suggestion and eaten themselves through the best looking parts of the buffet, talking animatedly. Cassia had to reign in her laughter several times, at least marginally trying to keep up the appearance of very polite conversation. She had started with asking questions about his job, his company, but they had soon found out that making up completely ridiculous stories about the people around them was far more entertaining. Keeping her laughter down to appropriate levels wasn’t always easy when Cullen was standing a little too close to her, murmuring outrageous observations about the other party guests around them into her ear. Occasionally, she looked around for her family. Bethany had been all over the room, talking to almost everyone before Cassia had lost track of her. Leandra was in deep conversation with someone on the other side of the room, and Cassia hadn’t even seen Adriene yet. Her sister had assured her she would show, if only to save her from their mother’s full attention for a little while, but so far there had been no sign of her.

They had moved over to the bar, getting themselves something to drink in between, while Cassia explained a bit more of just how she had come to work for her sister’s shelter. How she had studied law like she had always wanted and then worked at her father’s firm, just as her parents had always planned for her, until one day, she had just realized that she hated every little bit about her average day. From her job to most of the people that she worked with, the clients and the twelve hours days that were the norm around the office. All for something that wasn’t what she actually wanted to do. She hadn't felt sad about leaving any of it behind when she had left.

“So, I am curious,” Cullen asked after she had explained all of this. “Why did you study law in the first place?” He gave her a measuring look. “There must have been something about it that drew you in, right? Why become an attorney?”

“To save the world,” Cassia said plainly, before shrugging. This had always been the part where her mother in particular would start to scoff at her. Cullen didn’t, though. He just gave her a curious look. “I wanted to learn something that could help other people. When they are treated unfairly or simply not treated right. While I was at university, I met this girl, a fellow student, and she was completely into saving the environment, preserving the planet.” She always had to smile whenever she thought back to Merrill’s absolute enthusiasm about it. “She got me to pick up environmental law in addition to what I was already doing. But we live in a big city, not too much demand for that specialty around the companies here, so when my father had a job for me after university, I thought it would be stupid not to take it.”

Cullen had nodded along with everything she had been saying. “I can relate a bit,” he sighed. “When I was a boy, I never really imagined my life like this. I never wanted to go work for or with my parents at all.” He looked lost in old memories for a moment. “I wanted to work with animals, actually. There was a shelter for abandoned dogs near our home and I practically lived there after school.”

“What happened?” Cassia asked curiously. Somehow, she could easily imagine Cullen surrounded by a horde of dogs, all wanting his attention at once and the thought made her smile.

“The usual. My parents made some good points about having to make a living. Then my father got sick and I knew they would need my help running everything one day so…” He shook his head. “It wasn’t a bad choice ultimately. I still mostly enjoy what I do.” He sent her a look that made something tingle on her skin. “I admire that you had the guts to change direction though. Not everyone would have dared to leave behind an opportunity like working for your father to do what they really wanted.”

There was a warmth in his tone that spoke of honest admiration, and Cassia felt almost awkward under the praise. “Well, I do alright now, but I am still far off from actually saving the world,” she said with a self-deprecating chuckle.

Cullen moved a bit closer, his hand suddenly on her shoulder, urging her to look him in the eyes. “I don’t think you are as far away from it as you think. What you are doing right now, helping your sister with the youth shelter? That is helping people. Helping children even.” 

“True,” Cassia admitted. “On a small scale, I am helping. I can’t help but think that I could do more, though.”

Cullen shook his head. “Nothing small scale about that. You make it possible they can take in more children. Those children get a new chance at life, a home, an education… You are saving their world, one by one, each day the way I see it.”

Cassia had listened to him, feeling almost breathless as he stopped. That was certainly one way of looking at it. And the way he had said all this, the way he looked at her now made it clear that he meant every word of what he had just said. To her surprise, she felt the tell-tale burning that announced the beginning of tears around her eyes and she blinked hastily.

“Look at that, you are about to make me cry.” She lowered her head, trying to get her emotions back under control.

“I get the feeling that you are not really used to people telling you how great it is what you are doing,” he said kindly, discreetly handing her one of the napkins.

Cassia took it, thankful for the help and dabbed the leftover moisture away from her eyes before she shook her head. “Not from people that aren’t my siblings. And they kind of have to, you know?” When she looked back at Cullen and saw him smile kindly at her, she felt almost lost again. From the moment she had met Cullen, he had been nothing short of amazing to her. Generous, funny and full of great surprises day after day. She had been looking forward to their date tomorrow, thinking just how much potential she had felt in herself to maybe fall for a person such as him. Now, when she looked at him, she knew that her thoughts had been in vain in that regard. She was in far too deep already, completely enamoured by the man in front of her. And from the look on his face, his words and the soothing touch of his hand that had moved from her shoulder down to lightly caressing her arm, she felt confident that she wasn’t entirely alone in this.

“Damn it,” she cursed. Looking around them briefly. “Right now, I really hate that we are at this particular party again.”

This was definitely not what Cullen had expected her to say. Almost a bit taken aback, he gave her a questioning look. “Why, all of a sudden?”

Cassia moved just a little bit closer, lowering her voice. “Because right now, I really want to kiss you, but I am guessing that is something that would stir up the party just a little bit too much.”

The look on Cullen’s face was absolutely priceless. His eyes widened and he looked at her with so much longing that Cassia was almost afraid he would straight up ignore any sense of decorum and kiss her anyway. But then his posture changed, eyes going over the room once, and when he looked back at her, there was a promising smile on his face. “I just may have a solution for that,” he said, his voice sounding just a little bit rougher and it sent a shiver through Cassia as she tilted her head in expectation.

“Oh? You have a magical way to stop time or turn us invisible?” she asked playfully and Cullen shook his head.

“No, but I have been at this location for a business-meeting before.” He stepped even closer, pointing in the direction of the far end of the room, motioning her to follow him along.

They had only taken a couple of steps when Cassia felt the warmth of his hand on her bare skin as he put his arm around her. His hand came to rest on her lower back as he guided her along, past the many people who thankfully weren’t paying too much attention to them. She felt herself leaning into his touch instinctively, her breath hitching as she felt his thumb move just a bit, a tiny caress on her back.

“I have to confess I had to spend half of the evening trying really hard not to look at you too closely in this dress,” he murmured beside her in a low voice. 

“What did you do the other half?” Cassia asked breathlessly, as they stepped outside of the main party location and he took a sharp turn to the right.

“I looked,” he said simply. “And then I forced myself to not pull you into the next dark corner every time I did.”

Before Cassia could even come up with a witty answer to that, he opened another door. Moments later, they were in what looked like a small library. Cassia smiled to herself. If they had wanted a place where probably no one would even think to look, Cullen had definitely picked the right spot. The room was dimly lit, most of the light coming from the illuminated signs on the bookshelves, making it obvious that there was no one else in here.

He closed the door behind them before taking her hand, gently tugging her along a little bit further into the room and around the first row of books where she found herself crowded against the wall at the end of the row only a moment later. Cullen’s hand was in her hair, the other one still on her back as he tilted her head a little bit upwards.

“Finally,” he mumbled, his voice still low.

Cassia looked at his face, seeing the heat she felt going through her mirrored in his eyes. She licked her lips in anticipation, watching his eyes following the movement of her tongue, but he was completely still otherwise. Why wasn’t he moving? She looked at him again, confused this time.

Cullen’s smile turned into a grin as he chuckled. “You wanted to kiss me,” he pointed out, reminding her of what she had said earlier. “I didn’t want to ruin your plans again like I did with asking you out.” 

Cassia felt the laughter bubbling up in her at the mirth in his eyes and with a small shake of her head her arms came up around his neck, pulling him close to her. “You just like to tease me, make me wait,” she whispered against his lips, almost feeling his smile against her own.

“That too,” he agreed before she closed the last bit of distance between them and kissed him. 

Cassia had been going for a slow kiss, something that would allow them to get to know each other, find out just how the other person ticked, but the moment their lips met, she felt herself almost melt against Cullen. A gasp and then his tongue was in her mouth, making her forget all about going slow in an instant. She felt almost dizzy by the intensity of it, letting out a small whimper when he drew back to let them come up for air.

Her chest rising with each harsh breath she took, they stared at each other for a moment. Cassia wasn’t sure if she should say something. If she even  _ could _ say something. She decided to not even try, just dragging him closer again, meeting his lips in another open-mouthed kiss. His hand in her hair tightened just a bit and she felt her breath hitch as he pulled slightly, angeling her head a bit more to his liking.

Cullens other hand was running up and down her back, touching every bit of skin he could reach. “Dear Lord, Cassia,” he murmured against her lips, “the sight of you alone has been slowly driving me insane all night.”

She shivered at his words, finding it hard to get her own voice working for a moment. “I don’t know if I made it obvious enough yet, but you can do so much more than just look,” she promised, running her hands along his shoulders, down his arms. He was definitely wearing more layers than she, and she grabbed the lapels of his jacket, tugging on them in an attempt to get him to take it off.

Cullen got her meaning at once, briefly pulling back to shrug himself out of it, throwing the garment vaguely into the direction of the desk they had passed earlier before he immediately was back on her. “I fully plan to,” he said, running his fingers along the neckline of her dress down her cleavage before cupping her breasts through the fabric. His mouth was on her neck, kissing a way down to her collarbone and Cassia sighed under his ministrations. She felt a hint of teeth at her throat before his lips were all that was on her skin again. It sent a spark of desire through her. 

“If we were anywhere else,” he mumbled against her skin and Cassia let out a small moan at the thought of him leaving marks all over her skin. A reaction he definitely noticed. “Well, I guess there is always tomorrow,” he added before pulling the already low riding straps of her dress down even further.

Cassia, after being thoroughly distracted by his words for a moment, found her goal again, her hands at his chest, running upwards until she could pull his bowtie loose and get to the buttons hidden behind. Impatiently she started to open them one by one, wishing she could just rip the dress shirt open. _ ‘Well, I guess there is always tomorrow,’  _ she thought with a small grin.

Cullen had to stop his ministrations for a moment when she finally got his shirt open and surged forward, running both her hands and her mouth over his chest, his neck, teasing the skin with little bites of her own between her kisses. “I guess  _ I _ don’t have to wait for tomorrow,” she mumbled cheekily in between kisses. He could just cover up again in a while and would be perfectly fine walking out of here after all. 

She could feel the rumble of his laughter underneath her hands as he slowly pushed her back against the wall again. “Perhaps I just need to find the perfect spot that you can still hide away then,” he said before pulling down the front of her dress just enough to free her breasts. Their touches started to get more frantic. Kisses in between, mouths on every bit of skin they could reach. His lips were closed around the tip of one of her breasts, making her shiver against him as he felt him lift her dress, running his hands up her legs, fingers hooking around her underwear before pulling it down slowly. 

From very far away they could hear a loud cheering noise followed by applause and both of them stopped in their tracks for a moment.

“They’ve started with the speeches,” Cassia whispered, trying to listen closely. “We shouldn’t stay away for too long, less they send someone to look for us.”

Cullen nodded, still not moving in front of her. “Do you want me to stop?” 

She could see he was trying hard to get his own laboured breathing under control again. He definitely meant it, would stop immediately if she said so, but Cassia shook her head. “No, I think I want you to hurry up, we can keep the nice and slow round for our second date,” she said slowly, trying on her most seductive smile. “When there is hopefully an actual bed around, too.”

With a laugh, Cullen was back on her, pulling her panties all the way off her until she could step out of them before his hands were back underneath her dress, skipping all teasing as his fingers found what they were looking for between her legs. 

Cassia let out a quiet moan as she felt a finger slip into her, a second one following immediately. “Cullen,” she breathed out, holding onto him as she felt her knees almost buckle. Mindlessly, her hands went down, working on undoing his pants just enough to pull his hardened length out. She felt him slightly stutter in his movement when her hands closed around him, starting to stroke  him in time with the rhythm his fingers set inside of her. 

It only took a few strokes for him to stop her with a shake of his head. His fingers pulled out of her and he bunched up the front of her dress around her hips before he reached around, strong arms lifting her up almost effortlessly. Cassia threw her legs around him and then she felt herself being pressed into the wall even further just before he entered her in a smooth, slow stroke.

She realized she had been holding her breath when she felt it all flow out of her as he was sheathed completely inside her. For a moment, they didn’t move, both looking at each other and Cassia almost felt on fire from the amount of pure want she could see on Cullen’s face alone. His lips were on hers again, kissing her almost furiously as he started to move. Strong, fast thrusts inside her had her on edge in no time, and when his hand slid in between them, his fingers finding the center of her pleasure, it didn’t take long at all for Cassia to moan loudly into his mouth, clenching around him as everything around her erupted in pleasure. A moment later, she felt him shudder underneath her, joining her.

It took a few moments for both of them to stop breathing harshly, to calm down again. Cassia wondered what sort of picture she had to make right at that moment. Her legs still around him, her underwear lying god knows where, her hair probably tangled and her breasts spilling over her neckline. She almost chuckled at the thought of her mother probably fainting from indignation alone if she would have caught them like this. 

Cullens hands were on her thighs, helping her gently getting down onto her own feet again and a thought befell Cassia that made her chuckle for real this time. “You are one lucky guy, you know? I normally don’t put out on a first date.”

Cullen grinned at her. “Technically, this is not a date…” he remarked with a small wink and Cassia grinned along.

“You mean we’re not even dating yet? How improper!” 

“Well, we could see it like that, or we could count the many, many little coffee dates we already had,” he suggested, looking around for her missing piece of clothing. “By that standard, we would be downright prude and conservative for only having sex now…”

“Very true,” Cassia agreed. “Let’s go with that then if someone asks.”

As if she had summoned it, that was the exact moment that the door opened. 

“Cassia? Are you in there?” came the unmistakable voice of her sister Adriene and Cassia squeaked in surprise. 

“Don’t come in here,” she called back, trying hastily to get her clothes back in order. Which turned out to be not an easy task given the level of disheveled she had reached. 

“What the hell, Cass,” Adriene meanwhile cursed, clearly not listening to her sister. “I know, mom gets annoying but hiding in between the books is really not the-”

Adriene stopped abruptly as she rounded the corner, staring at them with her mouth slightly open.

Cassia was just managing in that moment to pull the front of her dress back up. Cullen had been a little bit further along, his pants closed and his shirt buttoned up halfway already. Still, everything about how they looked clearly gave away what had just happened in this room. Cassia looked from her sister to Cullen, who still held her panties in his hand, having been in the process of handing them to her just a moment ago. At her panicked look, he turned slightly, nonchalantly slipping them into his pocket before going back to buttoning his shirt as if nothing unusual was happening.

“Uhm,” Cassia said into the direction of Adriene, trying to go for a casual sound. “I’ll be right out?”

Adriene had shaken off the initial shock and had narrowed her eyes at her. “Seriously? Today of all days?” she said, disbelief in her voice. “Jeez Cass, when I said  _ ‘take the edge off if you are too nervous before the date’ _ yesterday I meant on your own, in private. Not this!” She shook her head. “And with one of mom’s rich jerks on top of it?” She shot Cullen a look. “At least you picked a cute one…”

That seemed to have been the thing that was Cullen’s breaking point. The bowtie fell open in his hands again as he started laughing wholeheartedly. “It seems like I am collecting all sorts of nicknames tonight,” he got out in between laughs and Cassia couldn’t help but laugh along with him.

At Adriene’s now thoroughly confused look, she managed to get a bit more serious again. “Adriene, Cullen, Cullen? This is my sister Adriene,” she motioned between them, giggling again when her sister’s eyes widened ever so slightly.

“Hot coffee guy Cullen?” she asked in disbelief.

He gave Adriene a small wave. “The one and only.”

Just like that her sister started grinning widely. “Oh, this is amazing. I bet mom is going to freak out,” she said almost gleefully. Cassia shook her head with another grin.

“Only about the inappropriateness. I’m pretty sure she was trying to set us up earlier,” she said.

Cullen had pulled on his jacket again and was now trying to help her get her hair somewhat back in order. “Only pretty sure? She told me outright that I should think about settling down before suggesting you for that,” he added casually.

Cassia and Adriene looked at each other for a moment before sighing simultaneously, not needing words to know they both had the same thoughts about their mother’s efforts.

“You definitely have to tell me all about how that came to be, later,” Adriene said, a hint of curiosity in her voice. “Alright, I’ll better see both of you back at the party in the next ten minutes!”she said, while turning around again already. “Nice to meet you, Cullen.” With that, she hurried out of the room.

“That was… not how I thought this would go,” Cassia admitted sheepishly when looking back at Cullen, who was still smiling in amusement. 

“At least I finally got to meet your other sister?” he said lightheartedly before pulling Cassia closer once more, giving her a slow and very deliberate kiss. “Let’s get out there again, and when the party is over,” he said, still close enough that she could see a spark of heat in his eyes, “maybe you want to come stop by my place for a cup of coffee?” 

With a wide smile, Cassia nodded, taking his hand as he offered and together, they walked back out of the library. It was only a bit later, when they entered the main party again that she realized with a heated face he still had her panties in his pocket.

 


End file.
